Section 1 of Marion’s Notebook Entries: Remembered sayings and lessons are transcribed from the handwritten log of Marion Thomas Collins, Sr., my Dad. He recorded these instructions for living a good life over a fifty-year period.

Wit and Wisdom: Part 3 of 3 Parts

It is always helpful to learn from your mistakes because then your mistakes seem worthwhile.
Plans are only good intentions unless they are carried out.
Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will probably use their ingenuity to accomplish it.
The trail is the thing, travel it too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.
There are three things that if a man does not know, he can not live long in this world! What is too much for him; what is too little for him; and what is just right for him.
Knowledge is not simply another commodity. It is never used up. It increases by diffusion and grows by dispersion.
An optimist is foolish enough to believe the best is yet to come and it usually is!
Be one who keeps his work, his temper and his friends.
Be careful in giving advice. Wise men don’t need it and fools won’t heed it.
The pessimist is a good teacher. Watch what he says and does, then you will know what you should never say or do.
There is too much said for the sake of argument and too little said for the sake of the argument.
Everyone makes mistakes, but the bad ones are the ones you do not learn from.
Giving, loving, caring making life better for others are some of the treasures of life.
When you are right, no one remembers. When you are wrong, no one forgets.
There is no such thing as the perfect man or woman, but you can be the best you can.
Time passes too fast except during an embarrassing moment.
One of life’s early lessons is sadly all to true; success occurs in private and failure in full view.
A clear conscience is what hurts when all your parts feel good.
Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
The longer you carry a problem, the heavier it gets.
Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
No one can get anyone out of a ditch by throwing dirt on them.
Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
The bigger a person’s head gets, the easier it is to fill his or her shoes.
Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it.
If you find yourself in a hole, do not dig it any deeper.
The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.
That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. Audio versions of The Claret Murders and Diversion are available from iTunes, Audibles and Amazon. eBook editions are also available through Apple iTunes’ iBook’s Store and Smashwords.com.
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Wit and Wisdom: Part 1 of 3 Parts

There is some good in the worst of us, and some bad in the best of us.
You may not be able to change faults in others, but you can change some of yours.
If two people talk at the same time, no one hears the other.
No government, family or business can survive without punishment for wrongdoing.
All kitchens should have a drawer for small tools, tape, glue, hammer and other small tools that you may need for repairs in the home.
Sometimes there is more to gain by being wrong than by being right.
Most arguments are two people who don’t know what they are arguing about.
It is far more impressive of for others to discover your good qualities without your help.
We are all born into the world with nothing. Everything we acquire after that is profit.
If you want to move the world, you must first move yourself.
How sad would winter be if we had no expectation of spring.
If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary.
The only thing that ever set its way to success was a hen.
Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others.
Not all of us have talents, so common sense and love will have to do.
One never realizes how much or how little he knows until he or she starts talking.
Why don’t we say to ourselves, “This is a great time and moment in history, and I can and will make the most of it.”
(To be continued)

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Remembered Saying of My Dad #3

Remembered Sayings of my Dad